Running head: SHORT TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 1

Justification Report
Name
ENG 315 Professional Communications
Professor
May 28, 2015
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Transmittal letter

The Justification Report consists in the analysis of the alternatives to solve a problem or to give a

solution to a necessity in the enterprise or individuals. The current Justification Report has two

subjects. The first one is the justification for a solution for a new provider or coal in the fusion of

the steel production and the later is the justification for a solution for the selection of a direct

reduction iron technology for a steel factory.

Both subjects are related to steel production, the first one in the last step of the steel production

and the later at the beginning of the reduced iron.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................4
Problem Statement...........................................................................................................................5
Terminology.................................................................................................................................5
Major Sections of the Report...........................................................................................................5
Alternatives..................................................................................................................................5
Criteria.....................................................................................................................................5
General Methods......................................................................................................................5
Major conclusions....................................................................................................................6
Scope and Limitations of the Research...........................................................................................6
Criteria.........................................................................................................................................6
Methods.......................................................................................................................................6
Overview of Alternatives.............................................................................................................6
Evaluation of Alternatives...........................................................................................................6
Criterion 1................................................................................................................................6
Criterion 2................................................................................................................................7
Findings and Analysis......................................................................................................................7
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Executive Summary

The Justification Report has the following parts:

Problem Statement: There are two problems; the first one is the requirement of a solution of coal

provision in the fusion process of a steel factory. The second one is the need for a direct

reduction iron technology of a steel factory.

Alternatives: For each alternative, the author proposes two or more alternatives to solve the

problem.
Criteria: The author proposes what are the criteria to solve the problem and select the best

alternative.
Selection: Considering the criteria and the proposed alternatives, the author selects the best

alternative to solve the problem.

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Problem Statement

The company Matesi Inc is a steel manufacturer that requires direct reduction ore to

introduce it to the process in order to produce steel slabs, rods, tubing and wires The original

concept from the company requires a continuous supply of direct reduced iron to the melt shop.

The direct reduction iron is a material with more than 95% of the iron composition. The direct

reduction iron is mainly imported from Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico, and Venezuela. The price in

the previous three years of the direct reduction iron was from 150 USD to 450 USD with an

evolution of the steel slab from 450 USD to 650 USD. The evolution of the price of the steel is

not proportional to the price evolution of the direct reduction iron because of the less competence

of the direct reduction iron companies and a high competition in the prices between the steel

producers. The previous situation makes necessary to have more control in the direct reduction

supply to the process. The main resource necessary for the direct reduction process is natural.

From 2010, the prices of the natural gas in United States of America fall from a peak of 5

USD/m3 to 0.5 USD/m3. The increase of the offer from shale petroleum producers from North

Dakota and Texas are the main causes.

The fall in the prices opens an opportunity to the company to invest in a direct reduction

iron plant to integrate it into the production process.

Overview of Alternatives

There are two main technologies available in the market of direct reduction plants:

The Midrex technology is developed by Midrex Corporation (Midrex, 2015), a United

States of America company with headquarters in Charlotte; North Carolina is the most used

technology in the world. The Midrex technology develops reactors of 400t capacity with fluent

material and dynamic seals. There are several plants in Mexico, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago,
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Middle East, India and United States of America. The Midrex Technologies company provides

the advisory, engineering, proprietary equipment and installation advisory. Midrex has

installation partners in all the countries where they have installed plants including the United

States of America. The most efficient plant in the world is located in Matanzas, Venezuela with a

400t reactor with a record production of 1.4 million tons of direct reduction iron and an installed

capacity of 1.0 million tons (Image 1).

The second technology is the HYL Direct Reduction Plant. The HYL Plant (HYL Tenova,

2015) use the fluent technology same as the Midrex. The sealing technology in the reactor is

static, that means that there are more valves and higher pressure than the Midrex Plant. The HYL

plant is possible to use different dimensions of iron ore pellets, different to Midrex where is

necessary to have a precise specification of the iron ore pellet from 1/2" to 5/8". The HYL

Technology is owned by Tenova Technologies which headquarters are in Monterrey, Nuevo

Leon.

Image 1: Direct Reduction Iron Flowsheet

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Criteria

There are three criteria to select the best technology for the Direct Reduction Iron Plant:

* Iron Ore availability: The dimension specification of the iron ore to introduce in the process

defines the best process of Direct Reduction Iron that fits the iron ore. If the company could get a

constant flow of iron ore pellets with a fix specification, a Midrex process is convenient.

* Investment and maintenance costs: The Midrex Plants requires a higher investment in the

beginning but has maintenance cost lower than the HYL Plants.

* Other plants nearby: The existence of other Plants with the same technology bring advantage to

the company for advisory contracts and providers. Both companies have operations in the North

America Region.

Evaluation of Alternatives

Cost

Alternative A: Use of Anthracite. Anthracite, given its limited availability, is touted to have

rising prices in the future. Such is because the main producers of anthracite, China, and Vietnam,

have significantly reduced their anthracite exports. Moreover, the fact that only 1% of all coal

reserves across the globe consists of anthracite, alongside continuously rising demand worldwide

due to its valuable properties for steelmaking, gives it more-than-enough potential to have higher

prices in the future (Atlantic Coal Plc., 2012; Belin et al., 1996).

Alternative B: Use of Dolomite.When sourced as a raw material, dolomite is very affordable for

steel manufacturers using it as flux for steelmaking. Such is due to its relatively strong

production numbers corresponding to constantly high worldwide demand. However, if dolomite

prices may vary depending on the proximity of markets where it is exported from, given its
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importance as a source of magnesia instrumental in the process of flexing, which in turn may

improve the lifespan of steel (British Geological Survey, 2006; Lamar, 1961).

Availability

Alternative A: Use of Anthracite. Consisting only 1% of the total hard coal deposits worldwide,

anthracite is currently at risk of becoming available only on a limited scale. Nonetheless, the

constantly growing demand for anthracite due to the efficiency it provides in steel-making

triggers its production, particularly in China and Vietnam. As China and Vietnam reduced

anthracite exports, supplies are expected to become more lucrative in areas beyond their

proximity (Atlantic Coal Plc., 2012; Belin et al., 1996).

Alternative B: Use of Dolomite.The diversification of the usage of dolomite one that is

initially just used for steelmaking, speaks for its vast availability. In the United Kingdom (UK)

alone, around 12.2 million tons of dolomite were produced in 2004 for a varied number of uses,

yet during the same year, its production in the nation for steelmaking decreased. Such was

because steelmaking declined in the UK, although the rest of the world continue to benefit from

the fluxing benefits dolomite offers (British Geological Survey, 2006; Lamar, 1961).

Humidity

Alternative A: Use of Anthracite. Although humidity is best measured via experimentation,

particularly because the existing literature does not provide for exact figures on humidity, it is

nonetheless presumable that abrasion during pneumatic transportation signifies that anthracite is

not so much humid. With a high-carbon and low-sulfur composition, anthracite is a kind of coal

one may presume to have low humidity, corresponding to the fact that it has abrasive

qualities.Issues on machine wear are thus put on focus(Atlantic Coal Plc., 2012; Belin et al.,

1996).
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Alternative B: Use of Dolomite.Just as contended earlier, measuring humidity is best handled

through experimentation, given that the existing literature does not provide for such data.

Nonetheless, dolomite is presumed to have relatively higher humidity, given its function as a slag

flux in steelmaking. As the source of magnesia, which protects the refractory linings of any given

steel vessel, dolomite may also be deemed as one that has high humidity. High humidity, in turn,

thus provides for the non-abrasiveness of dolomite(British Geological Survey, 2006; Lamar,

1961).

Chemical Properties of Process

Alternative A: Use of Anthracite.Anthracite is high-carbon (up to 92%) and low-sulfur (below

0.7%) in nature, henceforth requiring it to undergo the breaker to reduce it to different sizes.

Different sizes of anthracite have different uses: larger ones (stove and nut) for charge carbon,

medium ones (chestnut and pea) for carbon addition, and smaller ones (buckwheat, rice and

barley) for post-drying as slag foam or carbon injection(Atlantic Coal Plc., 2012; Belin et al.,

1996).

Alternative B: Use of Dolomite. Dolomite is comprised of magnesia and stands as a viable

alternative to limestone for industrial applications, which is why it is physically rendered as a

soft material easily convertible to powder. Thus, processing dolomite requires the following

processes prior to storing and transporting to purported destinations: crushing, screening and

grading(British Geological Survey, 2006; Lamar, 1961).

Abrasiveness

Alternative A: Use of Anthracite. Whereas the existing literature did not exactly feature any

experiment measuring the abrasiveness of anthracite, it is nonetheless a given fact that it is

highly abrasive. Machine wear is most likely to afflict pipes that are pneumatically transporting
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anthracite, given its high abrasiveness. With that, it is highly advisable that the pipes be managed

properly to ensure fully its maintenance and operation. Yet, the confronting issue at hand relates

to the costs needed for the thorough management of the pipes transporting anthracite a topic

that may find central relevance in further studies(Atlantic Coal Plc., 2012; Belin et al., 1996).

Alternative B: Use of Dolomite. Dolomite, for its part, possesses a chemical composition that

makes it practically the polar opposite of anthracite it is non-abrasive. The presence of

magnesia in dolomite provides essential protection to any given steel vessel, particularly during

slag flux in steelmaking. Therefore, dolomite stands as am essential mineral that can enable the

prevention of machine wear in steelmaking its application must thus serve as the subject of

further studies aiming to empower steel manufacturers to become more efficient (British

Geological Survey, 2006; Lamar, 1961).

Findings and Analysis

The best option to solve the supply of coal in the fusion process of a Steel Company is the

Dolomite.

In Table 1, there are the results of the analysis.

Criteria Anthracite Dolomite

Cost Expensive Cheap
Efficiency High High
Energy capacity Long Moderate
Humidity High Low
Quality Moderate High
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Recommendation

The best solution for the supply of coal in the fusion process is the dolomite.
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References
Anthracite: The cleanest burning solidfossil fuel known to man. (2012). Atlantic Coal Plc., 1-3.
Belin, F., Bolumen, A. G., Walker, D. J., Babichev, L. A., Levin, M. M., & Volkovitskaya, P. I.
(1996). 200 MW CFB boiler burning high-ash anthracite: Power-Gen International 96.
Orlando, FL: Power-Gen.
Dolomite. (2006). British Geological Survey, 1-8.
Lamar, J. E. (1961). Uses of limestone and dolomite. Division Of TheIllinois State Geological
Survey, Circular 321, 3-44.
Midrex (2015). Direct Reduction Iron making Technologies. Midrex. Retrieved from
http://www.midrex.com/
Tenova HYL (2015). Tenova HYL Profile. HYL Technologies. Retrieved from
http://www.hyltechnologies.com/home.php